2000
#8,741
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,461
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.28
Rare Last name
Pera
A Catalan and Italian occupational surname referring to a pear grower or seller of pears.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,095 Americans carry the last name Pera. That puts it at #15,448 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.61 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 163,606 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pera surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
2.1K
1 in 163,606
Census rank
#15,448
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,827 bearers of the surname Pera in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.61 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15448th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pera, the largest self-reported group is White at 54.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (39.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pera
The surname Pera has its origins in Italy, where it is believed to have first emerged during the medieval period. The name is derived from the Italian word "pera," meaning "pear," and was likely originally a nickname or descriptive name given to someone who lived near a pear tree or worked with pears.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Pera can be found in the Codice Diplomatico Longobardo, a collection of medieval documents from the Lombard kingdom in Italy, dating back to the 8th century. In this text, a person named "Petrus de Pera" is mentioned, suggesting the name was already in use by that time.
The surname Pera also appears in several other historical records from Italy, including the Libro d'Oro, a registry of noble families in Genoa, where the Pera family is listed as early as the 13th century.
Among the notable individuals bearing the surname Pera throughout history is Girolamo Pera (1568-1625), an Italian painter active in the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods, known for his religious works and portraits.
Another prominent figure was Carlo Pera (1837-1919), an Italian politician and statesman who served as the Prime Minister of Italy for a brief period in 1919.
In the realm of literature, the name Pera is associated with Giovanni Pera (1872-1935), an Italian poet and writer who was part of the Crepuscular movement in Italian poetry.
The surname Pera also has a connection to the world of music through the Italian composer and conductor Vincenzo Pera (1880-1957), who was known for his operatic works and served as the director of the Royal Opera House in Rome.
Furthermore, the name Pera has been linked to the ancient city of Pera, now known as Beyoğlu, a district in Istanbul, Turkey. This area was once a colony of the Republic of Genoa, and it is possible that some Italians with the surname Pera may have had ties to this historical settlement.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pera
Among Census respondents with the surname Pera, the largest self-reported group is White at 54.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (39.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Pera bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Pera surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White54.1% · 988
- Hispanic or Latino39.5% · 722
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.1% · 56
- Two or more races1.9% · 35
- Black or African American1.1% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pera
Pera appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#11,899
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,631
-830 bearers (-24.0%)
Per 100,000 0.89
Rank movement Down 3,158 places
2020
#15,448
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,827
-804 bearers (-30.6%)
Per 100,000 0.61
Rank movement Down 3,549 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,741 | 3,461 | 1.28 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,899 | 2,631 | 0.89 | -830 bearers (-24.0%) | Down 3,158 places |
| 2020 | #15,448 | 1,827 | 0.61 | -804 bearers (-30.6%) | Down 3,549 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Pera surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #11,899 | #15,448 | -29.8% |
| Count | 2,631 | 1,827 | -30.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.89 | 0.61 | -31.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pera bearers went from 2,631 to 1,827 (-30.6% change). The surname moved down 3,549 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,899 to #15,448.
FAQ
Pera surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pera?
Name Census estimates that about 2,095 living Americans carry the surname Pera. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 163,606 residents.
How common is Pera?
Pera ranks #15,448 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.61 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,827 people with the surname Pera. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,095), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.61 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.61 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Pera.
Has Pera become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pera went from 2,631 recorded bearers to 1,827. That is a decrease of 804 (-30.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,899 to #15,448.
What does the Census say about the background of Pera?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pera, the largest self-reported group is White at 54.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (39.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.1%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Pera in the 2020 Census, accounting for 54.1% (988 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pera appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (54.1%), Hispanic (39.5%), Asian/Pacific Islander (3.1%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Pera (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Pera mean?
A Catalan and Italian occupational surname referring to a pear grower or seller of pears. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Pera (0.61 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Pera?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.